Poet and performer Kaie Kellough on language, poetry & power

To celebrate National Poetry Month, Art Threat TV presents a profile of Kaie Kellough, one of Montreal’s finest literary performers. Kaie’s range and dynamism as a performer and poet have garnered him attention and admirers across the country and internationally.

We caught up with Kaie in his home where he gave Art Threat exclusive performances from his new book Maple Leaf Rag. We also spoke with Kaie about growing up in Calgary, his unique style of live ‘remix’ poems, and the relationship between language, poetry and power.

The interview length is 22:09. But if you want to skip to the bits you’re interested in, here’s a key to topics and performances:

1:23 … on what drew Kaie to poetry …
3:04 … on language and power …
8:10 performance “isory”
10:03 … on word games and remix poems …
12:20 performance “partner hand savings plan”
17:35 … on the function of poetry in political history …
19:02 … is poetry a cultural anachronism?